Sylvia Bradshaw said she has been a production worker for Whirlpool since 1984.

"You give your life to Whirlpool, sweat, tears, everything else. There are days where you'll be dragging out of there," Bradshaw said. "That's where I've been for the last 28 years, and now I'm back to square one, so here we go again. But I'm not as young as I used to be."

Having committed close to three decades to Whirlpool, Bradshaw said she took a voluntary lay-off in September, and she never expected her eight weeks of time off would turn into applying to go back to school.

"I've looked into nursing, radiology, respiratory care. That's about a two-year program. The medical field seems to be, I'm interested in it," said Bradshaw.

Bradshaw said it sounds easy, but school or a new field of work is intimidating.

"I can use my mind instead of my body this time. There's no guarantee at my age if they'll hire me or not. You have a lot of people like that at Whirlpool right now," said Bradshaw.

On top of searching for future opportunities, Bradshaw said she is faced with losing her comfortable lifestyle.

"Food, it's not going down, it's going up. Gasoline is outrageous. It's a toll on the family," said Bradshaw.

Bradshaw, however, said she will continue to stay optimistic, especially for her grandchildren.

"That's three little girls that, they need that American dream. They need that. Every one of us needs that, especially the upcoming generation needs that," said Bradshaw.

Bradshaw said she's hoping Whirlpool will cover some of her expenses for going back to school. She is still waiting to hear later this week if the company will provide her and other employees with a severance package.